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This morning riding through Cambridge was like a bike parade. There were times when the number of people on bikes outnumbered the people on cars 2 to 1 or even 3 to 1. It felt…revolutionary.

We are entering into a new territory, where more people are riding than driving. Maybe just on the nice days now, but soon perhaps on the not so nice days, and then all year round. We have a long long way to go, but seeing the hundreds of cyclists ride made my morning and put a big smile on my face.

While I know its technically their summer down there right now…its all relative. But this lady rode her bike TO THE SOUTH POLE!

Shortly before Christmas, we heard about 35 year-old British adventurer Maria Leijerstam’s planned attempt to ride to the South Pole on a recumbent fat-tired tricycle. On December 27th at 1am GMT, she achieved that goal, becoming the first person to ever successfully cycle from the edge of the Antarctic continent to the Pole.

ICE used its Sprint trike as the basis for the extreme build, including standard component…
ICE upgraded the design from a US$3,000 stock trike to a ~$33,000 extreme polar-cycle
Maria’s route took her approximately 400 miles (644 km) long, stretching from the edge of …

Leijerstam used a modified version of the commercially-available Sprint trike, made by recumbent tricycle manufacturer Inspired Cycle Engineering (ICE). She chose to go with a recumbent trike because it would allow her to maintain stability in the often very-high winds. This allowed her to concentrate simply on moving forward, instead of having to waste time and effort keeping her balance.

The strategy paid off, as she not only made it, but also beat two other cyclists who had set out for the Pole on two-wheelers, days before her Dec. 17th start date. Her victory wasn’t just due to the fact that she could move faster, but also because the stability of her trike allowed her to take a different route that was shorter but technically more challenging.

British adventurer Maria Leijerstam has braved savage conditions to become the first person to cycle to the South Pole from the edge of the Antarctic continent.
Maria, aged 35 from Wales, raced two men for the title and arrived at the pole hundreds of miles ahead of her nearest rival.

After 9 days cycling Maria completed the 400 mile expedition at approximately 1am GMT on the 27th December 2013.

Despite starting days later than her competitors Maria made quick progress on a recumbent trike designed specifically for the challenge by Inspired Cycle Engineering. The custom-made trike is stable and aerodynamic, which has allowed Maria to focus her energy on progressing through the gale-force winds and hazardous terrain.

Amazing, proving once again that there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. More here, and here.

As a wise person once said, “haters gonna hate.” But Hate aside, this is amazing. I am SOOOO SICK of the same old boring ass stick in the mud shit that comes out all the time. This, and the recent urban cycling guide, both display a sense of humor that is sorely lacking in these gloomy times.

Do the MBTA safety dance!

(And yes I know this has nothing to do with cycling, but just look at it! How could I not post this?!)

So I was getting some thai food today. Messenger bag on, helmet on, sweaty from riding around. The lady who works at the restaurant and I are friends, she chats with me, gives me free stuff sometimes, I buy lots of her food, its a great relationship. So we start talking about biking, and I mention I might ride out to P-town this weekend. Without batting an eye she looks at me and goes, “are you gay?” No pause, no big deal, just a simple honest question. I told her the truth, and we kept talking about other things.

I didn’t even think about it until I was getting ready to leave and the older gentleman next to me turns and with a nervous laugh goes “can you even ask people that?” I didn’t know what to say, so I went “sure its 2012.”

As I was leaving I thought to myself, that asking if someone is gay should be like that, it should be like asking them if they like milk or soy in their coffee. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being gay, so what’s wrong with casually dropping a question about it into conversation? It was refreshing and kind of awesome that this lady either didn’t know it was supposed to be “a big deal” or she just didn’t care. Either way, these awesome conversations always start with cycling.

I cant count the number of amazing, in depth, mind blowing conversations (about a million topics) that have started with two people talking about bikes. Its like bicycles are the universal conversation solvent. All conversations can come from a base of cycling….or at least it seems that way.

Have you had any interesting conversations that started off talking about bikes and ended up some place else?

The Word On The Street

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Tweet From Youtube: The MBTA blocked access to a bike path with a giant snowbank when they plowed the parking lot at Wellington Station. We decided to do something about it! more awesome back story here. This is a great … Continue reading →

TweetI sometimes have odd thoughts on my ride into work. Today’s were mostly around how nice the sun was, and how great it was to be riding, but as I locked up my bike (after an effortless commute), I realized … Continue reading →

TweetCurrently the world is drowning in snow, but this is huge news!! From Livable Streets. ———- We did it! Example of a protected bike lane. After years of advocating for a balanced redesign plan for Commonwealth Avenue,the city has now … Continue reading →

TweetLots going on over at BNB, check it out below! ———————————– Youth Programs Accepting Applications The next session of Earn-A-Bike will be March 23rd – April 30th, Mondays through Thursdays from 4:00m-7:00pm. The program is open to youth ages 12-18 … Continue reading →